Tai and the enchanted blackberry
by Fenris5000
Summary: Season 1 DDs meet the Mon behind Tai's strange behavior. Complete...for now.
1. Default Chapter

Disclaimer:  We do not own Digimon, we just like writing about them.

TAI AND THE ENCHANTED BLACKBERRY

CHAPTER ONE

By Fenris5000—Angelica

"Can we stop yet?" Mimi asked with a horrendous sigh.  "My feet hurt."

Tai rolled his eyes, shaking his head.  "Mimi, that's the ninth time in the last fifteen minutes you've asked the same question.  I already told you, we couldn't stop until we reach the Emerald Glade."

"But I'm tired and hungry." She whined.

"She's right Tai." Matt agreed.  "We've been walking for hours.  When Gennai told us to get to the Emerald Glade, I doubt he meant we had to get there today." He cast a worried glance at his younger brother TK who had not complained once during the excursion, but did look like he was ready to topple over either from fatigue or hunger; maybe both.

Tai stopped and eyed his companions skeptically, then shrugged his shoulders.  "Alright, alright.  I get the feeling you'd all mutiny if I didn't stop anyway." He took out his pocket telescope and aimed it further into the forest.  "Hey!  I think I've found the perfect spot to spend the night!" He informed them with a huge grin that showed nearly every tooth in his head.

"Lead on Tai." Izzy smiled, much relieved.  He had a new program from Gennai that he had been looking forward to dissecting.  All this walking was taking up valuable laptop time.

Joe grunted, hefting his bag over his shoulder.  "Finally."

Sora smiled.  "Gee, I hope there's something good to eat around.  I'm starving."

Matt hoisted TK up onto his shoulders for a piggyback ride.  "Okay, we're nearly there."

TK and Patamon yawned in unison.  "I'm glad." TK said sleepily.  "I don't think I could have walked another step." He held on to Matt's neck and leaned his head against his brother's back, closing his eyes.

Matt grinned.  "Hey, don't you go to sleep up there, you still have to have something to eat first."

"You're the best, Matt." TK said, perking up a little.  "Hey, we'd better get going or we'll lose the rest of them."

TK was right, with renewed energy; the rest of the digidestined had high-tailed it to the perfect spot Tai had been so excited about.

The forest floor was carpeted in a thick soft mossy green grass.  A pleasant little brook burbled gently along the east edge of the campsite.  Fruit trees grew here and there, dripping exotic colored treasures from their heavy branches.  Bushes adorned with large berries like Christmas lights beckoned the children in.

"Wow." Sora's eyes bulged as they drank in the wondrous sight around her.

Matt stopped and let TK and Patamon down.  Wow was right.  "Well Tai, it looks like you finally managed to do something right for a change." He sat down on the soft ground and leaned up against a tree.  Even the tree felt comfortable.

Tai scowled.  "I happen to do a lot of things right, Matt, and don't you forget it."  He put his hands on his hips and stuck his chin out.  "And if this place wasn't so great, I'd kick your butt for saying that."

Matt's eyelids fluttered closed.  He'd get something to eat later, what he really needed was a quick catnap.  He sensed Gabumon, TK and Patamon joining him under the tree, TK laid down, curling up next to his big brother.

"I thought you guys all said you were hungry!" Tai yelled, throwing up his hands in frustration.  All the rest of the digidestined as well as their digimon, including Tai's own Agumon, were following Matt's example and finding a comfy place to curl up and doze.

"We'll have some sustenance later." Izzy moaned with a sleepy smile.  "Come on Tai, it's not like we won't be able to find any food tonight." He sighed contently and closed his eyes.

Tai rolled his eyes.  "Well fine.  Be that way.  I'll explore our campsite by myself.  I'll be the first to find the tastiest food.  Maybe there won't be any left after you all wake up."

"Don't be silly Tai." Mimi giggled sleepily.  "You're not that big a pig."

Tai grunted, looking around.  Well he was hungry.  Where would he start?  Everything looked so good; he almost couldn't decide what to try first.  Then a thick bush loaded with big juicy blackberries caught his eye.  "Cool!  Blackberries.  My favorite!" Tai picked one and quickly popped it into his mouth.  "Oh yuck!" He stated with a grimace after swallowing.  The berry left a bitter aftertaste in his mouth, as well as leaving him feeling numb all over.  "Oh no, poison…" His eyes rolled up in his head and he collapsed to the ground, face first.

*     *     *

Joe's eyes slowly opened and he smothered a huge yawn.  There was nothing like a good fifteen-minute nap to restore energy.  He sat up and glanced around at his friends stretched out still sleeping.  Even Tai had succumbed to the lure of the sandmon.  He stood up and stretched, "I can't believe I'm the first one up." He said.  He looked over at the trees as his stomach growled, reminding him that it was time to explore the food in the area.

"Ouch!" Gomamon yelped.  Joe tripped over the little white digimon.

"Shhh!" Joe hissed.  "Sorry." He got up and looked around.  The rest of the digidestined and digimon were now showing signs of waking up.

Mimi sat up and yawned, nearly bopping Agumon in the nose.

"Hey!"

"Sorry."

TK got up and started running around.  "Come on Patamon, let's find something to eat!" He squealed excitedly.  "Can we Matt?"

Matt got up, rubbing his eyes.  "Sure TK, just let me look at it before you eat it."

Gabumon sat quietly gazing around him in awe.  In all his life, he had never heard of this wondrous place.

"It all seems too good to be true." Sora grinned, whirling around to see it all.

Izzy looked around.  "A little paradise never hurt anyone." He reached for a shiny bright red piece of fruit from the closest tree but halted abruptly.

"Okay!" Tai yelled, clapping his hands.  "Rest time is officially over.  Grab your stuff and let's go."

"What?" Matt asked, walking up to Tai.  "You're kidding, right?"

Tai stood straighter.  "Nope.  I've given it some thought, and I've decided we need to get a little further before we stop for the night."

"You've decided?" Matt inquired quietly.  "You mean the rest of us don't have a say in the matter?"

"What's to say?" Tai asked evenly.  "We are leaving.  Now."

Izzy looked over from the tree.  "But Tai, we're nearly out of daylight.  And you said it yourself.  This IS the perfect spot to make camp."

Tai raised both eyebrows.  "I lied." He started clapping his hands again.  "Okay, I'm only gonna say this one more time:  Grab your stuff, we are leaving."

"We are not leaving, Tai." Matt fumed.  "Look at everybody.  They are all so tired, they won't last five minutes on a hike, plus you haven't given anyone a chance to have something to eat."

Tai's face reddened.  "Is it my fault that you guys all decided to have a nap instead of food?" He slapped his hand across his knee.  "Now come on before it really starts getting dark." He folded his arms and waited, tapping his foot.

"You are being such a jerk Tai.  There is no way TK can walk any further." Matt said angrily, eyeing his little brother, who's eyes popped open wider at the sound of his name.  He hated it when Matt and Tai fought.

"I…I…I'll be okay Matt." TK smiled, tugging at his big brother's green shirt, trying not to sound as sleepy as he felt.

Tai watched as everyone slowly got up to join them.  He smirked.  "See Matt?  I told you."

Matt sighed and looked over the rest of his friends.  With the exception of Tai, everyone looked as done in as Matt felt.  They had been walking all day, and it had been hot.  Their digimon did not look much better.  Palmon had even started to look on the wilted side.

Tai reached the edge of the clearing and turned around.  "Well come on you guys.  We have a lot of ground to cover before we make camp for the night."

Matt watched as everyone trudged after their fearless leader.  Something seemed to be wrong.  I looked like Tai was leading them in the wrong direction.

"Tai!" He yelled, stomping after the group.  "Hold up a minute."

TK looked up at his brother.  Oh no, Matt was going to start another fight with Tai.  He counted silently on his fingers.  That would make four arguments today, not including the one that had mostly been a joke when the two were criticizing each other's hair.  If they had not run out of pinecones when they did, it could have gotten messy.

The little boy grabbed his brother's leg when he got closer and forced him to stop.  "Please don't fight, Matt." TK begged, his eyes filling with tears.

Matt frowned down at his little brother.  "TK let go.  I need to talk to Tai."

Tai had stopped and turned, tapping his foot.  "Today guys.  Remember?"

"Where are we going?" Matt inquired, raising one eyebrow.

Tai rolled his eyes.  "Come on Matt, don't tell me you've forgotten already.  Emerald Glade."

"Then why are we going in a new direction?"

Izzy sat down with his laptop and started clicking away at the keyboard.  "He's right guys, we're going northeast.  Our original direction was northwest."

"You guys ever hear of a shortcut?" Tai said, turning around.  "Okay, question period is officially over, it's time to move on." He started hiking briskly in a northeasterly direction

"Well?" Matt asked, looking at Izzy.  "Do you think he's taking us on a wild goose chase?"

Izzy cleared his throat.  "Well, though unlikely, it IS possible Gennai may have given Tai some extra info while the rest of us were preoccupied.  I can't see Tai purposefully leading us astray.  He knows how important this is.  I think we should follow him.  He seems to know exactly where he is taking us."

Joe nodded.  "That is a good plan."

Sora and Mimi both agreed as well.  TK finally let go of Matt's leg and looked up at him.  "Come on Matt.  As long as we're all together, everything will be okay."

Matt frowned.  "Alright.  Fine.  We'll follow him, but I sure hope I don't have to say 'I told you so' later."

The straggling digidestined and their digimon raced to catch up to their leader, who did not even seem to notice they had stopped to take a vote.

They walked for a good hour without incident.

"Okay everybody." Tai stopped with a smirk.  "It's nearly time to stop for the night." He held up a hand.  "As soon as we get across this river."

Everyone turned their attention to the torrent of water roaring past them.  It was about twenty feet across at this point.  A log lay across it invitingly as a bridge.

Tai jumped up onto the log.  "Come on everyone, let's go." He led the way confidently across the log.  Once across, he hopped down and grinned.  "Okay, who's next?"

The rest of the group exchanged worried glances.

"What if I fall in?" TK asked quietly.  "I can't swim very good." His eyes were as big as saucers.

"I'll dive in after you TK." Matt said, just as softly.  The water looked dangerously fast though.  If anyone fell in, would he be able to grab them in time?

Izzy frowned.  'What if I fall in?  My laptop will be toast.' He thought.

"My hair would be ruined if I fell in." Mimi cried.  "I can't.  No.  There has to be another way across, there just has to be." She stuck her lower lip out in a pout and crossed her arms.

"Oh Mimi." Palmon said with a flowery smile.  "I'll protect you."

"Really Palmon?" Mimi asked with shining wet eyes.

Sora got up on the log and gulped.  Biyomon floated gently on the breeze beside her.  "You can do it Sora.  It'll be a piece of digicake."

Sora smiled weakly.  "Digicake, huh?  You'll have to bake me one some time." She started across the log, both arms out for balance.  'Gee, this isn't so hard after all if you don't think about the water underneath.' She made it across and hopped down next to Tai.  "Come on you guys—it's a piece of digicake." She yelled back over the roar of the river.

Joe rolled his eyes, readjusting the strap of his bag over his shoulder.  "Huh.  More like a pie being thrown at you.  I hate getting wet, I really do." Gomamon hopped up next to him.

"Don't worry Joe, if you fall in, I'll save you." The little white digimon with the purple markings and orange hair said happily.  "I love the water."

"Then why don't you swim me across?" Joe asked, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose.

Gomamon did a double take.  "Well, I don't want to get wet and cold right now."  He edged past Joe and started across the bridge.  Joe shrugged and joined him, mumbling something about stupid logs.  Agumon jumped up behind them and followed.

After one close call in which Agumon had caught the hiccups suddenly and nearly singed Joe's running shoe, causing him to teeter for a second, the three made it across, each breathing a silent sigh of relief.

"Well, if Joe can make it, I guess I can." Izzy stated, scrambling up onto the log.  Tentomon buzzed beside him.

"Of course you can make it."

Mimi crawled up after them.  "I'm coming too.  I don't want to be last!" Palmon followed closely, read to throw her poison ivy vines out, just in case.  They made it across and Mimi flopped down on the soft grass, emotionally drained.

"Come on Matt, TK, Gabumon and Patamon." Tai yelled out across.  "You guys are holding up the show!"

Matt bent down to eye level with TK.  "Okay squirt.  There's nothing to it.  Just keep your eyes ahead and your arms out like this for balance." He demonstrated. 

TK smiled.  "I'll be okay big bro.  I'm not s.s.scared."

Matt patted him on the head.  "I know you're not scared.  But if you were a little, that would be okay." He helped TK up onto the log.  "Gabumon, you go ahead first in case TK needs something to hold on to."

Gabumon smiled amiably.  "Just grab onto my fur and follow me TK."

TK laughed.  "Hey this is going to be fun." He twined his fingers through the digimon's blue and white striped fur and followed close.  Patamon stayed as still as a statue on his usual perch atop TK's head.

Matt noticed TK's knapsack left behind and picked it up.  He shrugged it on, loosening a buckle so it would fit better.  When he looked up, he saw Gabumon and TK had nearly reached the end of the log.  Once they crossed, Tai leaped up onto the log and began jumping up and down.

"Hey come on Matt, let's get this show on the road already!"

Matt frowned at Tai's antics as he jumped up onto the log.  "Okay, okay, I'm coming.  Calm down, Tai."

He followed Tai the jumping bean across nearly to the end of the log, he was about three quarters of the way when Tai finally jumped down, making the log bounce off it's limb that kept it in one place.  Matt felt the log roll off of its side and he went right along with it, diving into the frigid current.  He came up for air a little ways away and blinked the water from his eyes.

"Matt!  Watch out!" TK yelled from far away.  At least he sounded far away.  Matt struggled to turn, and to his horror, saw the log coming at him.  He grabbed it as it swung by, nearly pulling his arms from their sockets.

"Matt!  You're going the wrong way!" Tai yelled over the roar of the river.

No kidding.

"Gabumon!" Matt managed to splutter.  "Help!"

In a flash, Gabumon digivolved to Garurumon and was in the water at his digidestined's side.  "Climb on Matt."

Matt grasped Garurumon's fur painfully and lifted himself onto the large white and blue striped wolf digimon's back with a groan.  His muscles were sore and he was cold to the bone.

Garurumon swam strongly to the shore where the rest of the digidestined waited with worried faces.

"Matt!" TK yelled, launching himself at his soaked brother once the older blond had slid shakily from his champion digimon's back.  "I thought you were a goner for sure!" He sobbed.

Matt grinned through chattering teeth.  "You can't get rid of me that easily, squirt." His smile faded, as he stood straighter and glared at their leader.  "What's the matter with you, Tai?" He had his hand balled into a fist and looked like he was getting ready to send Tai on a one-way trip to Knuckle Junction.

"What are you talking about, Matt?" Tai laughed.  "You think I'd actually do anything awful like that to a friend on purpose?"

Matt's eyes flashed angrily.  "It sure looked like it to me." He said in a deadly quiet tone.

"Well you're mistaken." Tai said in an agitated voice.  "It was an accident.  I promise.  I'm sorry you fell in, okay?"

Matt crossed his arms across his chest and turned away; not ready to accept Tai's apology yet.  He was starting to feel awfully cold.

"Come on you two." Sora got between them.  "Let's go get camp set up, then we can talk this out."

Tai's face lifted.  "Yeah.  That's a great idea Sora."

Garurumon digivolved back to Gabumon and took Matt's arm in his paw.  "Come on Matt, I'll build you a nice hot fire so you can dry off and warm up a little." The slight blue tint around Matt's lips reminded the digimon of their crash landing on the floating blizzard island after and encounter with Devimon had gone bad.  It had not taken Matt very long to become ill after being exposed to the elements.

They all followed Tai into a nice little clearing.  An opening to a cave invited them into shelter for the night.

"Oh, a cave!" Squealed Palmon in delight.

Mimi looked over at her excited digimon as if Palmon had just sprouted another head.  "A cave?  What's so great about a big dirty old cave?"

Palmon grinned.  "If it rains, we won't get wet." She said simply.

"Oh goody."

Gabumon sat Matt down and arranged some twigs carefully, and then blue-blastered it into a roaring fire.

"Hey, way to go Gabumon." Tai said, rubbing his hands over it happily.  "Okay, now all we have to do is find some food, bed down and hit the sack."  He clapped his hands.  "Okay.  TK and Patamon, you're in charge of climbing the tree for bananas.  Izzy and Tentomon, get the water.  Joe and Gomamon, go explore that cave, make sure there are no evil digimon hiding in it." He paused for a breath.  "Sora and Biyomon, find some leaves to make some kind of beds.  Mimi and Palmon go get more firewood.  Matt and Gabumon, go and catch us some fish, since you're all wet anyway…"

Matt sneezed.  "And what are you going to be doing, Tai."

Tai sat down with a grin plastered across his face.  "I am supervising."

The rest of the digidestined exchanged looks.  Their wild haired leader had sometimes annoyed them with his little power trips, but he had never just told them what to do and not helped them do it.

"Um Tai." Came a hesitant voice from behind him.  "Am I supervising too?"

Tai jerked around.  "Oh, Agumon.  I almost forgot about you." He hemmed and hawed for a few moments.

"I can't get firewood all by myself!" Mimi screeched with tears cascading down her cheeks.

Tai snapped his fingers.  "That's it.  Agumon, you can help Mimi and Palmon gather firewood." He paused to look over his team, who were just standing there gaping at him.  "Well on with it, guys.  The day isn't exactly getting any longer you know."

Everyone (besides Tai) just shrugged their shoulders and got to work, hoping their goggle-wearing leader was just playing a little joke on them and return to his usual self soon.

*     *     *

It took a while, but soon everything had gotten done, and Tai figured it was time for another pep talk for the troops.

"You guys are super." He crowed.  "But may I make a few itty bitty suggestions for improvement."

Everyone frowned as their leader droned on, ignoring their lack of response.

"TK, the bananas were bruised, what did you do?  Drop them?" TK's eyes filled with silent tears as Matt's filled with rage.  Before Matt could butt in though, Tai rambled on.  "Izzy, the water was gritty.  Why'd you have to swirl the silt up?  How hard is it to collect clean water?  Joe, you missed a couple of bats in the cave.  They nearly scared Sora's helmet off.  Sora, why'd you collect branches from the prickliest trees in the forest?  Mimi, the firewood has too much moss on it.  Matt, you know the blue striped fish taste better than the silver ones.  Next time, throw the silver ones back and wait for the yummy ones."

The vein in Matt's forehead was throbbing in tempo with his heartbeat.  "Next time you catch the fish!" He yelled, causing Tai to back up a step and trip over Agumon, landing on his rump.  "What is your problem, Tai?  You are acting like some kind of freaking dictator!"

"Hey, who're you calling a freak!" Tai jumped up to meet the challenge.

Matt rolled his eyes.  "Tai, you are not acting like yourself.  What's the matter with you?" He pointed to TK and Mimi.  "You're making people cry."

Sora watched with a worried look.  Sure Tai was acting like a creep, but the way they were going at it, it looked like Matt and Tai were getting ready to slug it out.  It would probably be better to break up the fight before it actually got physically violent.

"Would you guys knock it off?" She bellowed.  "It's time we started getting settled for bed."

"Yeah Matt." Tai agreed.  "I don't know why you're always starting all these fights anyway."

Matt slapped himself on the forehead.  "Oh yeah, I forgot.  I start all the fights." He turned on his heel and started off into the forest, Gabumon following faithfully behind.

"You get last watch!" Tai yelled after him.

"Whatever."

*     *     *

Tai was lying down next to Agumon inside the cave listening very carefully.  The crests.  He needed the crests.  He did not know exactly why he needed the crests; he just knew he needed the crests.  All seven of them.  The Digivices too.  It was important that he have all of them.

The sounds of snoring and even breathing greeted his ears like a symphony.  Izzy was even talking in his sleep.  It sounded like he was dreaming of playing chess, and losing quite badly.

Tai smiled maliciously and slowly, quietly sat up.  Everyone, including their digimon, had stuffed themselves to capacity with food, therefore they would sleep more soundly.  Tai smirked, looking at TK surrounded by Patamon and Gabumon.  Matt had sent his digimon inside the cave to keep TK warm.  Typical Matt.  Outside on watch, all by himself.  Tai kneeled beside Mimi and eased her crest from her neck.  Man, she slept like a log!  Her digivice was laying next to her.  Tai grabbed it too and stuffed them into his shorts pocket.

Everyone else had taken their crests off for the night, and their digivices were within easy reach.  No one woke up.

Tai poked his head outside the cave.  Matt was sitting with his back to the cave, watching the clearing comfortably.

Tai's eyes narrowed as he surveyed the clearing.  Now how was he supposed to get Matt's crest and digivice?  That didn't matter.  What was important was that he get it.  His eyebrows turned upwards and if he was not trying to be quiet, he would have laughed diabolically.  His eyes fell upon a large rock.  Carefully.  Silently, he picked it up.  Matt's ears were sensitive, wouldn't want to startle him.

Tai watched as Matt's head started to turn.  There wasn't time to run over to him and hit him, so he aimed the rock and pitched it like a softball, hoping it would hit it's mark.

Before Matt had turned, the rock slammed into the back of his head with deadly accuracy, sending the young blond over in a heap, unconscious.  Tai's face twisted into a grimace.  "Ooo.  That's gotta hurt." He said under his breath, almost laughing out loud.  He approached Matt now, not caring about the noise too much, and retrieved the last crest and digivice.  He weighed them in his hand as he regarded his friend.  "Gee, that doesn't look very comfortable.  Maybe I should straighten him out a bit." Tai rolled Matt over into a comfortable looking position, noticing his jeans and green shirt were still feeling a bit damp from his earlier swim in the river.  Tai shrugged.  Oh well.  He rolled Matt closer to the low burning crackling fire and again, repositioned his limbs to look like he was just sleeping comfortably.  "There.  That's better.  Nighty night Matt." Now that his job was done, Tai yawned and stretched.  All he had to do was stash his goodies in a safe place, and then he could join his friends in dreamland.  And he knew the perfect hiding spot.  He rubbed his hands together with a sly smile.

*     *     *

The sounds of birds singing woke Sora from her fitful dreamless slumber.  She sat up and gazed around their nice warm homey little cave, smiling cheerily.  Everyone was starting to wake up.  She reached for her crest and digivice.  She grabbed a fistful of dirt.  Her eyes flew to the spot her things were supposed to be.

"My crest!" Mimi screeched, jumping up.  "It's gone!"

Joe readjusted his glasses and scanned the cave.  "Mine too.  So's my digivice!" He got up and nudged Gomamon gently with his toe.  "I thought you were supposed to be my protector."

Gomamon looked hurt.  "You're safe, aren't you?"

Tai got up, a surprised look on his face.  "Well technically Joe, Gomamon wasn't exactly on guard duty."

"Matt!" TK yelled, tearing out of the cave, followed closely by Gabumon and Patamon.

The rest of the digidestined and digimon followed the three out and scanned the area.

"Matt, what happened?" TK cried, shaking his brother, who appeared to be comfortably sleeping.

Matt groaned and rolled over, his eyes blinking open.  His hand went to the back of his head as he shakily sat up.

"He fell asleep!" Mimi shouted, throwing up her arms in disgust.  She marched up to him.  "And do you know what happened while you were sleeping, Matt?"

Matt gazed up at her with bloodshot eyes, still blinking, trying to clear the dizziness.

"Somebody stole our crests and digivices."

Matt paled.  "That's impossible." He reached for his own and let out another groan.  His were gone too.

"Matt, I can't believe you fell asleep." Izzy muttered.

Tai nodded.  "Well, there's a first time for everything."

Matt's eyes narrowed.  "I didn't fall asleep." He looked around confusedly.  What was he doing so close to the fire?  He couldn't remember moving at all.  "I was sitting right over there by that tree." He got up and staggered to the spot.  His crest and digivice were not there either.  His head was pounding painfully.  "I heard a noise coming from the mouth of the cave and then BLAM.  Something must have hit me from behind." He sat down again and took a deep breath.  There was no way someone or something could have snuck past him, and the shape of the clearing made it impossible for anyone to really sneak up from behind, unless the person had come from out of the cave.  That idea was not sitting too well with him.

To be continued…


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer:  We do not own Digimon; we just like to write about them.

Tai and the Enchanted Blackberry—Chapter Two

By Fenris5000—Angelica

After a quick breakfast, the digidestined and their digimon packed up their belongings and headed out on the path.

Izzy consulted his laptop.  The Emerald Glade was really not even close to the direction Tai was leading them.  Where was Tai leading them anyway?  The area they were headed looked desolate.  The forest started to get denser as they walked.  Barely any sunlight filtered through the leaves of the trees.

Mimi shivered.  "Are we nearly through this stupid forest yet?  I'm cold."

Tai stopped and turned around.  "Well if you guys would walk a little bit faster, you'd be able to stay warm." He whined.  He glared at the boy and digimon bringing up the rear.  "Hurry up Matt.  You're holding up the show!"

Matt staggered up to Tai and glared back.  "Tai, we've been walking for hours.  I have a splitting headache here.  You go on ahead and we'll catch up if you're really that anxious to get wherever it is you're taking us that soon.  Your trail isn't exactly hard to follow." He sat down and leaned his head back against a tree and closed his eyes.  "I'm stopping for a rest.  The rest of you guys can do whatever you want.  I don't care."

TK ambled over to his brother and snuggled up beside him.  "I'm with Matt." He grinned.

Mimi collapsed into a heap next to them.  "Oh thank goodness." She proceeded to take off her boots and wiggle her toes in the grass.

Izzy set his laptop down and started clacking away at the keyboard.  There had to be a rational explanation for Tai's shortcut.  Izzy just couldn't believe Tai would purposefully lead them astray.  Maybe the aliens possessed him.  He glanced up at Tai.  Yes, he had a certain wild look about him today.  He seemed fidgety.  Nervous.

"So you are all voting for a little break then." Tai said in a cold voice.

Joe gulped.  "Just a little one.  It won't take long."

"Alright then." Tai replied.  "I'm going to scout on ahead a little ways to see what the trail is like.  When I get back, I expect you all to be ready to go." He stalked off without looking back.

Sora's eyes followed Tai.  "Anyone notice Tai's acting a little tense today?"

"A little?" Mimi repeated.  "That's an understatement."  She got up.  "I hear a stream close by.  Anyone want to walk with me?"

TK got up.  "Is it okay if me and Patamon go with Mimi and Palmon, Matt?"

Matt nodded slowly.  "Just be careful TK.  Gabumon, you go with them too."

Gabumon got up.  "Okay Matt, I'll make sure they are all safe." He followed the four down the same trail Tai had taken a few minutes ago.  Izzy got up and stretched.

"I think maybe I'll check to see if there's anything edible in the vicinity.  Come on Tentomon." He closed his laptop and headed off in the opposite direction.

Joe put his bag down.  "I think I need to um visit the um, you know…" He headed off towards a nice secluded looking area, followed closely by his ever-loyal digimon Gomomon.

"Don't worry Joe, I'll make sure you're safe." The little white digimon with the amused eyes said.

Sora sat down and sighed, her gaze troubled.

Matt regarded her through weary eyes.  "What?"

"I'm worried about what will happen if we don't get our digivices and crests back." She cried.  "Don't you think it's weird how they all disappeared and nobody even woke up?"

Rubbing his temple, Matt frowned.  "And I'll tell you what's even weirder, why was Tai in such an all fire hurry to get us moving this morning?  He didn't give any of us a chance to look for any clues.  I think he's acting like he knows exactly where they are."

Sora stood up, outraged.  "Are you accusing Tai of the theft?  I can't believe you can even think that!" Her face was turning a bright shade of red and her hands were placed on her hips.

He shrugged his shoulders.  "Just think about it."

"I will not." She huffed, turning away.

The calm of the secluded forest was broken by a shrill shriek and some desperate splashing sounds.

"TK!" Matt yelled, struggling to his feet and staggering off towards the sounds of the creek, followed closely by Sora and Biyomon.

"You little brat!" They heard Mimi screech.  She was sitting in the creek, completely drenched.  Her face was as pink as her dress, and her eyes were wildly on fire.

TK was sitting on the bank of the creek hiding behind Gabumon and Patamon, his soft blue eyes wide as saucers and filling with unshed tears.  "But…  I didn't Mimi, honest.  You've gotta believe me." He cried.

"What happened?" Sora demanded, her eyes darting between their soaked debutante and the little snuffling blond boy.

Mimi tottered to a standing position and flung a pointed finger in TK's direction.  "That little URCHIN pushed me in!" She spluttered, half way between a shriek and a sob.  She lurched out of the creek and started bawling uncontrollably.

TK started crying too.  "I didn't!  I wouldn't!  I couldn't." He hiccupped, rubbing his eyes, looking miserable.

Matt knelt down by his little brother and gave him a hug.  "I believe you." He gave Mimi a dirty look.  "And you had better quit calling my little brother names."

"Gabumon, did you see what happened?" Sora asked.

Gabumon looked down sadly.  "N…no.  I was leaning over to get a drink." He looked even more miserable than TK and Mimi.

Patamon and Palmon both nodded.  "And we were checking those bushes over there for berries because we were all getting hungry." Patamon said.

"So there are no witnesses." Sora began.

"And it's Mimi's word against TK's." Matt concluded with a long sigh.  This trip to the Emerald Glade was getting more and more frustrating.

"Well if TK didn't push me in then who did?" Mimi demanded shrilly.  "Come on out forest phantom.  We know you're hiding around here somewhere!"

"Mimi." Sora said gently.  "Now come on, lets get back to the others."

A long anguished yell interrupted the silence again.

"Hey, that sounded like Izzy!" TK shouted.  They all quickly made their way back to the clearing at top speed.

"I can't believe you!" Izzy's angry voice continued.

"I didn't!" Joe's voice came back.

"Yeah!" Gomomon added.

"Oh, and I suppose my laptop just opened by itself and decided it wanted a mudpack to keep it looking young." Izzy said.  His face was purple and he was on the ground trying to gently clean the dirt from the keyboard.  "Ohhh, my poor laptop." He moaned.

Joe looked around helplessly.  "Well I could say the same about you, you know.  My bag wasn't exactly tipped upside down with its contents spewed all over the Digiworld when I left, you know."

Izzy scowled.  "Well I left before you.  The probability that I did it is about a million to one."

Joe folded his arms across his chest and tapped his foot, also scowling.  "Oh really.  And what is the probability that I abused your laptop, huh?  And who's to say you didn't double back?"

Izzy snorted.  "That is ridiculous.  It would be counterproductive."

Sora got between them.  "That is enough, you two.  You are supposed to be reliable and knowledgeable here.  You're acting more like spoiled and bratty if you ask me."

"Don't forget Sora, we don't even have our crests anymore." Joe said, kneeling to refill the big bag with Gomomon, Biyomon and Tentomon's help.

A rustle of the nearby path caught their attention to Agumon.  "Hey, has anyone seen Tai?" The orange dinosaur-type digimon said looking worried.  "We got separated on the trail and I can't find him anywhere."

Matt smirked.  "There's your answer.  Tai probably doubled back and played a little joke on us."

Sora whirled around.  "Matt Ishida!  You quit picking on poor Tai.  He's out there lost.  Maybe hurt even."

He rolled his eyes.  "Poor Tai?"

"Hellooooo!" A voice called from the trail.  "Did I hear someone say my name?"

"Tai." Sora said, clearly relieved.

Mimi was still sniffling.

"Hey, what's going on around here?" Tai asked with a big frown on his face.

"Trouble." TK said worriedly.  "Something pushed Mimi into the creek to get me in trouble, and then messed up Izzy's laptop and Joe's bag.  Matt thought it was you and made Sora mad."

"Me?" Tai laughed.  "I was lost on the trail.  I almost didn't find my way back." He smirked at Matt.  "Anyways, you're just still sore about letting someone get past you on guard duty last night.  It's natural that you'd want to shift the blame to someone else."

Matt nodded calmly.  "Yes, that's another thing, don't you think we should have looked for clues about who might have walked off with our crests and digivices?"

Tai's grin widened.  "Well dude, where do you think we're going?  I'm following the trail left by our midnight intruder." He turned around and headed back down the path.  "Come on guys, before the trail gets cold."

"See?" Sora spat in Matt's direction.  "I told you Tai was on the level.  You owe him an apology, Matt."

Matt shrugged his shoulders as they left the clearing.  "Well if you don't mind, I think I'll wait until he leads us to the digivices and crests before I do that."

*     *     *

TK shivered slightly beside Joe as they continued their way through the spooky dark forest.  Every now and then he would sneak a peek over his shoulder to check if Matt and Gabumon were still there.  Matt had been taking it a bit slow.  Maybe he had been hurt like he said.

He and Patamon stopped and waited for his brother and digimon to catch up.  Matt did look a little paler than usual.

Matt eyed his brother carefully.  "What's up TK?"

"Nothing." TK sighed, falling into step beside him.  "I just wanted to walk with you guys for awhile."

Matt nodded as they continued.  He had this creepy feeling that they were being watched, but every time he looked, he couldn't see anything but the dark shadowy trees.

That was the moment the bushes ahead of them exploded with digimon.  One after the other, a group of grotesque large digimon appeared from out of nowhere.  They were probably six feet tall, wiry long legs and arms and the color of shiny midnight.

"Oh no." Tentomon twittered.

"What?" Izzy demanded, his voice cracking with stress.

"Diabolicomon." Tentomon continued.  "We'd better get out of here.  These guys are bad news."

No sooner were the words out of the little red bug-like digimon's mouth than all seven digidestined and their digimon partners experienced one of Diabolicomon's favorite attacks:  sleeping gas.  One by one, the children and digimon slipped to the cool forest ground unconscious.  There had not been time to even think of fighting.

*     *     *

Mimi's eyes popped open and she yawned hugely.  She rolled over, trying to get more comfortable, but was horrified to discover herself laying on a dirt floor wedged between Joe and Agumon.  She sat up with a loud shriek that woke everybody up.

"Whoa, where's the fire?" Tai asked, covering his ears quickly.

"Waaaahhhh." Mimi cried, tears cascading from her eyes like Niagara Falls.  "I want my digivice."

Joe adjusted his glasses and fearfully glanced around the room hoping he wouldn't see any hostile digimon watching them through the bars on the window.  "Looks like we've been tossed into a dungeon."

Sora sighed.  "Okay, so we know where we are, let's figure out how to escape." She approached the door and stood on tiptoe to see out the window.

"Well?" Matt asked.

"It's too dark to see anything." She said, turning her back to the door and leaning against it.

The clickety clack of computer keys brought their attention to Izzy and his laptop.  "Gennai gave me this great new program the other day." He said matter of factly.  "It's called:  _Where am I_."

"What does it do?" TK asked moving over for a better look.

Izzy scratched his red head.  "Well, it is supposed to tell you where you are on the map of the digital world." He pointed at a big yellow X on the screen.  "See?  We're here."

"Where is here?" Joe asked, he reached into his bag and pulled out his supply of emergency rations.

Izzy looked up with a perplexed expression painting his face.  "We're in a dungeon alright.  We're in Condormon's dungeon to be more precise."

"Condormon?" Matt repeated.  "Has anyone ever even heard of Condormon?"

Everyone shook his or her heads.

"What does he want with us then?"

"He must be the one who's after our crests and digivices!" Tai exclaimed, jumping up.  "Yeah.  Hey Izzy, there probably aren't any more digimon in this forest are there.  Just Condormon and his little minions the Diabolicomon, Right?"

Izzy consulted his laptop.  "That's right Tai.  No other digimon will dare to cross into this forest."

Matt stood up with a glare at their leader.  "Okay Tai.  I ask you again.  What does he want with us?  He already HAS our crests and digivices.  Doesn't he?" He grabbed a fistful of Tai's blue T-shirt and continued to give him a menacing stare.

"Hey Matt, will you calm down?" Tai frowned back.  "What's got into you?  He um probably just needs us to…  er, make them work.  Yeah.  And he would need our Digimon too.  Since our crests and digivices are useless to anyone else.  Duh."

Matt let him go, but still glared.  "Smooth Tai."

Tai glared back.  "And just what is that supposed to mean?"

Matt shrugged his shoulders.  "What do you think?" He shook his head.  "Something just isn't adding up."

"Would you two please cut it out?" Sora said stepping between them.  "This is not the time to be fighting.  We should be trying to figure a way out of here."

The kids and their digimon went quiet for a minute as they heard crunching footsteps approach their cell door.  A loud clanking sound was soon heard, followed by and earsplitting squeak of the hinges as the door slowly opened.  The slight draft wafted in a stale stench like rotten potatoes.

"Ewwww." Mimi moaned, hiding her face in Joe's shirt.

The Diabolicomon stepped into the doorframe and jabbed a long arm in Tai's direction.  "You.  Come with me to the Master's Chamber." 

Tai's eyes nearly popped out of his head.  "Me?" He squeaked.

"You." The monster hissed.

"Okay." Tai shrugged, following the monster out the door nonchalantly.  "Later guys."

TK looked troubled.  

"Wow, Tai sure is brave." Patamon said.  "He didn't look scared at all."

"Well he is the digidestined holder of the crest of courage." Agumon reminded them from his spot beside Gabumon.

They all sat in silence for a few minutes, wondering what was happening to Tai.  Was Condormon making the wild-haired boy show him how to use the digivices and crests like Tai had figured?  Did Condormon even have the crests and digivices?

Matt was pacing.  What was up with Tai?  He just wasn't acting like himself.  Was he on the level?  Or was some outside force influencing him?  Matt looked up as he heard the prison door being opened.  It was Tai.  Just Tai.  With a set of keys.  The boy stepped inside the cell and motioned to TK.  

"Come on.  Condormon wants to meet you."

TK's jaw dropped.  "Mmmmee?"

"Yeah you, TK." Tai replied.  "So come on.  Oh, and don't forget your packsack."

TK looked up at Matt, who was glaring at their leader and moving closer to him, his gloved hands balled into fists.

"He's staying right here with the rest of us Tai."

"Hey, how come Tai's not being guarded?" Mimi asked.

Agumon started jumping up and down excitedly.  "Yay!  Tai must have given them the slip.  He's come back to set us free so we can all escape together!"

Tai snickered.  "Ha!  You wish, you pathetic little digimon." He stood up straighter and faced TK.  "Come on little boy.  The Master doesn't like to be kept waiting."

TK hid behind Matt.  "What's wrong with Tai?  He's scary." TK cried, shivering with fear.

"And I say he's staying right here." Matt said in an even quiet tone.  "If you want him, you'll have to go through me first."

Tai sighed.

Sora got between them.  "What are you two talking about?  Tai, you have the keys.  Let's get out of this place."

Tai laughed shortly.  "Aw, do the little digidestineds wanna run away?" He said in a mocking tone.

They all nodded numbly.

"Well it isn't going to happen." He spat, pushing Sora out of the way.  "Come _on_ TK." He lunged past Matt and grabbed TK's arm, causing the scared young blond to cry out.

"Alright, that's it." Matt snarled, pulling back his fist and punching Tai square in the nose, causing their wild-haired, goggle-wearing psycho-leader to stagger back into the door, his hand covering his face.

"Owwwww." Tai moaned, glaring up at Matt.  "Hey!   What did you do that for, Matt?"

Matt was still looking somewhat dangerous as he stood protectively in front of TK and Sora.  "You're not taking TK."

"Huh?  Take TK where?" Tai asked, pulling his hand away from his face and wiggling his nose.

Izzy stepped forward.  "You said Condormon wanted to meet TK."

"I did?" Tai looked slightly dazed.

"Are you alright, Tai?" Mimi asked cautiously.

"Yeah." Tai said.  "Except I think Matt's broken my nose." He looked around at his surroundings now.  "Hey, are we locked in a dungeon or something?"

Matt's eyes narrowed.  "We were captured by Condormon.  You were acting kind of weird.  Like he had you under his control or something.  Can you remember anything?"

Tai closed his eyes tightly.  "Yeah.  He wants the digivices and crests."

Mimi snorted.  "Well that's rich, we don't have them either."

"Yeah we do." Tai said with his old grin.  "I hid them in TK's packsack while I was er… under the influence of that poisoned blackberry."

"Poisoned blackberry?" Joe repeated, suddenly feeling quite ill.

Gomomon sidled up to him with a grin.  "Don't worry Joe, from now on, I'll taste everything before you eat it."

"Thanks a lot."  Joe rolled his eyes, thinking of some of the meager meals they had feasted on.

Matt rubbed his temple as he watched Tai.  "So we have our crests and digivices.  And we have the key to this cell door.  Let's go and pay this Condormon a little visit."

"But what about the Diabolicomon?" Sora asked.

Tai frowned.  "All they can do is that stupid sleep gas attack thing.  We just were not prepared last time.  Our digimon can take them out.  Besides, they are all in the sleeping chamber right now."

"So what does Condormon do?" Joe asked.  He didn't really want to know, but someone had to ask the question.

Tai shrugged.  "I dunno.  I only just met the guy.  He looks like a big ugly vulture.  Big."

Tentomon perked up.  "He plays games with the mind, like leaving an enchanted blackberry for one of us to find.  He can't directly hit you with any spells, but he can enchant objects that may contact us and complete the spell."

TK opened his packsack and handed everyone's digivices and crests to their proper owner.

"So in other words," Izzy said, accepting his belongings, "don't touch anything on the way to Condormon's lair."

"Well how about the floor?" Mimi asked fearfully.

"Don't fall down and scrape your knee." Izzy said confidently.  "Don't eat anything and don't touch anything sharp.  My laptop says his spell must be ingested or absorbed into the body for it to work.  Probably all the fruit was infected in that little oasis.  I touched a piece of fruit, but did not have a chance to actually pick it and eat it, therefore I was not affected by the spell."

"So let's go then." Patamon said, sounding like he was getting a little bit impatient.

"Alright." Tai smiled hugely.  "Let's show this creep what we're made of."

The digidestined and their digimon crept out of the dungeon and tip-toed down the long, cold, dark corridor towards what Tai called:  Condormon's Lair.  Tai stopped at a large opening and motioned everyone to have a look.  The cavern must have been the Diabolicomon's sleep chamber.  There were more evil digimon than they could count.

Tai closed the door carefully and turned the key.  "Don't need any distractions while we're battling Condormon." He whispered, pocketing the key.  "Come on." He led them further down the corridor for a few minutes.  It felt like they were walking down a slight slope and the air was starting to feel cold.

A dim golden light spilled out of an opening up ahead.  "There it is." Tai replied in barely a whisper.  "Okay, TK and I will go first.  When I give the signal, the rest of you charge in digivolving.  I just met the guy, so I don't know what exactly he's capable of, okay?  So we'll hit him fast and hard."

"He'll probably have a skeleton crew of Diabolicomon on sentry duty as well." Izzy added.  "If you see one, cover your nose and mouth quick so you don't get gassed."

Everyone nodded silently.  Tai took TK's hand and led him into the light, followed closely by Patamon and Agumon.  The rest of the digimon and children watched from outside in the passage.

Tarnished metal torches along the walls lighted the room and the floor was covered in a ratty looking red colored fabric.  Beside a large stone fireplace sat the immense digimon on a high-backed throne-like chair.  TK cringed.  The creature did look like a giant shiny black vulture.  He was watching as they approached his chair.

"Digidestined child of courage." Condormon said in a deep slow timber.  "You have brought me the crests and digivices?"  His beady black eyes reflected the flickering light of the torches eerily.

Tai nodded.  "Yes Master.  Also I brought you our youngest digidestined, the child of hope; as requested."

TK couldn't take his eyes off the evil digimon.  He hoped Tai would hurry up and give the signal.  He did not like the way Condormon was looking at him.

"Bring me the digivices and crests."  Condormon said.

Tai shrugged.  "Okay.  Now!" He shouted.

The whole chamber exploded with bright colorful light as the rest of the digimon joined Agumon and Patamon digivolving and advancing on the evil digimon.

"What is the meaning of this?" Condormon hissed angrily, standing up as the now champion level digimon were together hitting him with everything they had.

"Nova Blast!"

"Howling Blaster!"

"Meteor Wing!"

"Electro Shocker!"

"Needle Spray!"

"Harpoon Torpedo!"

"Hand of Fate!"

"Your spell has been broken, Condormon!" Tai shouted exuberantly.  "You don't control me anymore, but I have control over Greymon.  Go get him, Dude!"

"Nooooo!" Condormon wailed, leaping back and knocking over his throne.  Greymon hurled another nova blast at the huge black vulture-like digimon as Garurumon aimed his icy cold howling blaster at the same time.  With each attack, Condormon was getting smaller and smaller and looking ragged around the edges.  Birdramon swooped over and fired a few of her meteor shower-like blasts before ramming the beast.  They barreled into the far wall with a thunderous crash.  Condormon raised himself wearily out of the fray and gave the rest of the digimon and digidestined a withering glare.  "You cursed digidestined have not seen the last of me." His voice dripped acid.  He disappeared into a puff of black smoke.

A few Diabolicomon rushed in and eyed the group warily.

"Get them!" Tai yelled.

The Diabolicomon prepared to strike, but the digidestined and their digimon were anticipating the gas attack this time covering their mouths and noses or holding their breath and were able to fight; each champion level digimon blasting them into digital data one after another, the room glowing with bright energy until there were no foes left.

"Do you think he's going to come back?" Sora asked looking around nervously.  It had not taken much to defeat Condormon.  They had actually done it without even going to ultimate.  It just seemed too easy.

Tai shrugged.  "I don't know.  I doubt he'll come after us again today, but I don't think we should stick around here to find out."

The digimon dedigivolved back to their rookie forms and along with their digidestined, followed Tai to the mouth of the secret lair of Condormon, hoping they would never see it or him ever again.  The sight of the cool dark forest was a huge relief after being stuck in the dank dungeon-like underground complex.

"Do you think we should do anything about those Diabolicomon we trapped in their sleep cave?" Mimi asked quietly.

Izzy shook his head.  "They are not a threat to us right now, it's only a matter of time before they figure out how to open that door, so I say we leave them to it and get ourselves out of here."

"Sounds good." Matt responded, rubbing his temple again.

Tai stopped.  "Um, I'm sorry about your head, Matt."

The rest of the digidestined stopped also and gazed curiously at their leader.  "What do you mean by that, Tai?" Sora asked.

"Well.  Um.  While I was er… under the um, influence of the poisoned blackberry, I sort of hit Matt from behind with a rock." He pulled at the collar of his blue shirt uncomfortably.  "I was possessed I tell ya.  Matt didn't fall asleep on guard duty.  I knocked him out."  He paused, looking sheepish.  "I also _did_ sort of roll that log on purpose so he'd get a little wet."

Everyone but Matt and Tai gasped in surprise.

Matt nodded.  "Apology accepted Tai." TK grabbed his brother around the legs in a big hug.

"I'm sorry I thought you fell asleep Matt." He cried.

Everyone else murmured an echo.

Tai straightened.  "Okay then everybody.  It's a long way to Emerald Glade, so let's get going already!"

Izzy had his laptop out.  "Yes it is a long way.  According to my calculations, your little _possession _by the _enchanted_ blackberry has set us back three days.  This is the last time we follow one of _your_ hair-brained shortcuts!"

Tai shook his head in frustration.  "I knew I should have dumped that laptop of yours into the creek."

"Excuse me?" Izzy spluttered.

"You would have killed TK though."

TK looked up at Izzy with horror filled eyes.  "You would have?"

"Yeah, you guys actually got off real light with the exception of Matt of course." Tai said, smiling wistfully.  "Ha, ha, ha, you should have seen your face when you fell into the creek, Mimi.  Absolutely priceless."

"You mean that was you?  After all that; it was you?" Sora demanded, her face turning a deep shade of burgundy.

Tai nodded.  "Yeah.  It was pretty funny, huh?  Being controlled by an evil blackberry isn't all bad I guess."

Sora turned to Matt, her fists clenched.  "Matt, I apologize for being such a jerk earlier.  Tai, I can't believe you can laugh about it.  Do you realize that we could have all split up over this?"

Tai waved her off.  "Now, now, I came back and made everything better."

"You dumped over my bag!" Joe steamed on the verge of hyperventilation.  Even his glasses were fogging up.

"You put digi-dirt in my laptop!" Izzy stormed.  His hair and face were the same color and he was starting to crack his knuckles.

"You pushed me into the creek."  Mimi screeched.  "And this dress is dry clean only." If looks could kill, Tai would be dead.

"You made Mimi think I'd pushed her into the water!" TK cried.  "She called me all sorts of horrible things that I don't even know what they mean!"

"I defended you, without any evidence." Sora moaned.

Tai stopped chortling as realization dawned on him.  "Hey!" He held up his hands.  "Now don't be hasty here, after all, I _was_ possessed." He let out a nervous little laugh.  "Right?" He did not like what he saw, so turned to run.

The five angry digidestined followed like wildfire.

Matt sighed and addressed the seven confused digimon around him.  "Well at this rate, we'll certainly make up for those three days we're behind." They followed the sounds of Tai's yelling, towards the elusive Emerald Glade.

The End


End file.
